The present invention relates to a rectifier circuit through which DC output voltage several times higher than AC input voltage can be obtained.
With the rectifier circuit for transforming AC input voltage to high DC voltage of several tens kV, it is not always easy from the viewpoint of design and manufacture of transformer to obtain high voltage. Where the rectifier is made small in size, it is impossible to shorten the dielectric distance between the primary and secondary windings. Therefore, the magnetic coupling between the two windings is weak and the high voltage can not be effectively generated at the secondary side. DC dielectric strength can be substantially improved by considering only the dielectric strength of insulator, but AC dielectric strength has not been improved enough because the life breakdown of insulator due to corona discharge must be considered. Accordingly, the design free from corona discharge is needed for this purpose. It is particularly troublesome and provides no excellent result when a solid insulator is employed.